Self-lifting flatiron



Aug. 28, 1962 K. o. WHITFIELD SELF-LIFTING FLATIRON 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 20, 1961 FIG. 2

INVENTOR KENNETH 0.WHITFIELD ATTORNEY Aug. 28, 1962 K. o. WHITFIELD SELF-LIFTING FLATIRON 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 20, 1961 INVENTOR. KENNETH 0. WH ITF'IELD Jm Eu ATTO RN EY United rates Fascist @i he 3,05%,885 Patented Aug. 28, 1962 3359,8355 SELF-LEFTHIG FLATHEGN Kenneth G. Whitfield, 175 Bloomfield Ave, Montclair, NJ.

Filed June 20, 1961, Ser. No. 118,375 19 Claims. (Cl. 38-79} This invention relates to devices for causing fiatirons to lift away from operating surfaces whenever they are left unattended.

An object of my invention is to provide an auxiliary electrical circuit in a fiatiron of the tilt-up type which causes an automatic operation of the tilt-up mechanism whenever the user of the iron leaves it for more than a very short period of time.

Another object of my invention is to provide a flatiron with a handle grip a part of which, when the operator leaves the iron, is spring released and closes a circuit which autmatically efiects the raising of the iron oi the board to thereby avoid burning anything that the iron may rest upon.

A further object of my invention is to provide an iron that is fully automatic in that if pressure on the handle is released, a mercury switch is caused to close and activate a resistor which heats a bi-metallic element and triggers mechanism to cause the iron to lift off the board.

These and other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description when taken with the accompanying drawings. It will be understood that the drawings are for the purposes of illustration and do not define the scope or limits of the invention, reference being bad for the latter purpose to the appended claims.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters denote like parts in the several views:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of an electric flatiron, showing a portion thereof in section in order to illustrate the mechanism provided by the invention for elfecting an automatic lift-up of the iron when left unattended.

FIGURE 2 is an exploded view showing in perspective the main parts of the lift-up mechanism.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the parts in the position they take when tripped to initiate a raising of the iron oh the board.

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 1, but showing the iron in tilted or lifted position, with the operating parts disposed accordingly.

FIGURE 5 is a side elevational view of the mercury switch and associated parts in normal positions.

FIGURE 6 is a wiring diagram.

Flatirons have been developed and provided with triggers which a user may trip to cause them to assume tilted positions, that is, with the heated portion raised off the ironing board to avoid scorching or burning material that was being smoothed. Such irons, however, are not foolproof, in that the user may forget to trip the mechanism and leave the iron down on the goods with a resultant scorching or burning of the material. In accordance with my invention, such an oversight is obviated by providing for the automatic tripping of the lifting mechanism by bimetallic means controlled electrically so that damage to an ironing board or goods thereon is avoided.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the fiatiron of my invention comprises a body 11 and a handle 12 fixedly secured thereto. The handle 12 is desirably at least partially hollow to accommodate the parts to be described. The body 11 comprises the usual sole plate 13 and cover 14 which, in the present instance, extends beyond the rear f the sole plate to provide an upwardly-opening hood 15. A supporting plate 16 is secured to the rear of the sole plate and has upwardly-extending ears 1? for sup- 2 porting a transverse pin 13. An iron-supporting member 19 is pivotally carried on said pin 18.

The supporting member 19 has forwardly-extending feet 20 which extend longitudinally of the iron and are normally disposed within recesses 21 in the body 11, as shown in FIGURE 1. The lifting means or supporting member 19 also comprise a pair of arms 22 which extend upwardly into the handle 12 of the iron and carry at their upper ends a roller 23. A cross bar 24 extends between the arms 12 and receives a screw 25 on which there is a nut 26. The nut 26 serves as a receiver for the upper end of a heavy coil spring 27. The lower end of said spring is secured to a lug 28' on the plate 16. At the rear of the handle 12 there is a plate 29 which is removable to afford access to the screw 25 for turninug to adjust it with respect to the nut 26, to thereby vary the tension on the spring 27.

When the supporting member 19 is in its inoperative position, as shown in FIGURE 1, the spring 27 is under tension so that it tends to rotate said supporting member relative to the iron clockwise as Viewed in said figure. In other words, the spring 27 urges the supporting member to its operative or iron-raising or tilting position shown in FIGURE 4, but said member is normally held in its inoperative position against the action of said spring by latching mechanism now to be described.

There is housed in the handle 12 and pivotally mounted about a pin 3% latch means in the form of an arm or lever 31. On the same pivot 3%) there is also mounted a trigger member 32 which is connected to the upper end of a bimetallic activating member 33 as by means of a link 34 connected to the upper end of the trigger Bland receiving a desirably curved upper end portions 35 of said bimetallic element. The lower end of said bi-metallic memher or element 53 is fixed in the handle portion 12 of the iron. as indicated at 36.

The arm of lever 31 extends rearwardly from its pivot 34? and at its free end is formed with a cam 37 having a curved rear edge 33. A saddle member straddles the upper edge of the cam 37 and is secured thereto. This member protrudes through an opening in the handle 12, thus providing a pedal-like member engageable by the users hand for a purpose which will be understood.

A lug 3% extends laterally from the arm 31 and has secured thereto one end of a relatively weak spring 4%, the other end of which is secured to a latch bar 4-1 to complate the latch means of the fiatiron. The latter has one end pivotally secured to member 32 at 42, while the other end 43 is slidably disposed within an opening or recess 4-4 in lug 39. A latch keeper 46 is secured within the handle at 47 and cooperatively associated with the end 43 of latch bar 41. The upper end of the latch keeper is formed to provide a ho0k-like portion 48, as illustrated in FIGURE 2, which engages and holds the end 43 of latch bar 4 1 when the parts are in the position show-n in FIGURE 1.

The bi-rneta llic element 33 is operated, for efiecting release of the latch bar 41 from the keeper 46, by heat from an electric coil 49. Said coil is mounted in the handle 12 in a suitable manner and included in a circuit 5'1, in parallel with the circuit 52 to the heating element 53 for the body .11 of the iron, which is connected to a suitable source 54- of electrical power in a conventional manner. In the circuit 51 is a preferably mercury switch 55, that is, one which is open when in a substantially horizontal position, as viewed in FIGURES 1 and 6, for example, but closed when ted in only one direction, i.e., clockwise, or so that the mercury flows to bridge the electrodes thereof, that is, to the position illustrated in PiGUF-LE 3, and also shown in dotted lines in FIGURE 6. The amount of mercury is, of course, that adapted for such purpose as is known to those skilled in the art.

This switch 55 is resiliently mounted, as on a flat leaf spring 56 disposed inside the handle 12. Its lower end portion is secured to the handle 12, as by rivets or the like 57. The spring 56 may carry the switch 55 in any suitable manner, as by'a band portion 58 encircling the same, and connected to said spring by a suitable means, as by a rivet -59. 'Mounted on the upper portion of the spring 56 and covering the same is a top element 61 of the handle 12, which spans the distance between the front partof the handle and the saddle portion 45.

When a user grips the handle portion 12, the part 61 is held down to the position of FIGURE 1, but when the iron is left unattended the spring 56 raises the portion 61 and the switch 55 to the position illustrated in FIGURE 3. Such action effects a closing of the switch 55, as by bridging the electrodes thereof by mercury, which flows from left to right completes a circuit through the heating coil 49 and supplies sufiicient heat to raise the temperature of the bi=metallic element 33 to cause it to move from the full line position to the dotted line position illustrated in .FIGURE 6, thereby effecting a corresponding movement of the latch bar 41.

Thus when the flatiron is being used, the parts are disposed as illustrated in FIGURE 1, the latch bar 41 being held under the hook portion 48 of the keeper 4s, and the cam 37 engaging the roller 23 to maintain the supporting member 19 in an inoperative position. It will be noted that the latch bar 41 extends through the lug 3? and holds the arm 31 in the position illustrated, thereby maintaining the cam 37 in efiective position. Moreover, through theaction'of the spring 40, the member 32 is urged toward its rearmost position'show-n in FIGURE '1.

When use of the fiatiron is discontinued, the top element 61 and the switch 55 are raised by action of the spring 56 to the position of FIGURE 3. This effects closure of switch 55 and establishes an electric current through the heating coil 49, which raisesthe temperature of the bi-metallic element 33 sufiiciently to pull forward on the trigger member 32 through the link 34, to thereby pull the end 43 of the latch member 41 from under the hook portion 48 of the keeper 46 against the force of the return spring 44 This means that the arm 31 is then no longer held downward and the spring 27 becomes effective to cause relative movement between the flatiron body 11 and'the supporting member :19.

Since the arms of said supporting member 19cannot move further downward, the effect "of the spring action is to tilt the iron counterclockwise and upward to the posi- 'tion shown in FIGURE 4. At such time, the iron is completely removed from the ironing surface and supported entirely by the legs 20 of the member 19. During the tilting movement of the iron, the roller 23 rides over the cam edge 38 and this, together with the action of the spring 40, causes the arm 31 to pivot slightly in a relative clockwise direction, thereby raising the saddle member to a position such as shown in FIGURE 4.

The only purpose of connecting the member 32 to the 1 element 33 by the link 34 is to trip the latching mechanism. As soon as this is accomplished and the iron rises to the position of FIGURE 4, the mercury switch is tilted clockwise with respect to the handle 12 and thus .in order to meet specific requirements or conditions.-

porting member into its inoperative position. Very little pressure is necessary to effect this action, particularly since the iron is of substantial weight and tends of itself to return to position of FIGURE 1. Simultaneously with the exercising of pressure on the handle 12, the heel portion of the users hand engages the saddle member 45, de-

pressing the same and causing the cam edge 33 to move p,

the supporting member 19 until the legs 2% are completely retracted within their seating recess. 7

The depressing of the saddle member 45 also serves to project the end 43 of latch bar 41 under the hook-like end 48 of keeper 45, therebylatching the parts in the 7 positions shown in FIGURE 1. It will be noted that the member 45 operates through cam 37 and arms 22 to raise the legs 29 slightly above the ironing surface after the iron has been lowered onto said surface. Since the pressure on saddle 45 must be sufficient to overcome the tension of the heavy spring 27, the operability of member 45 by the heel of the hand is important.

Thus it will be seen that at any time the user leaves the iron unattended, said iron is automatically raised.

from the position of FIGURE 1 to that of FIGURE 4; without the necessity of any thought on the part of the user. When the user desires to again operate the iron,

it is necessary only to grasp the handle in the usual Way and exert slight downward pressure with the heel portion of the hand on the raised saddle member 45 at the manual that has to be doneto activate the safety device.

The use of such an iron involves less efiort than that of.

one in which the operator has to push on a button or.

lever to effect a movement'of the iron to raised position.

Having now described my invention in detail in accordance with the patent statutes, those skilled in this art will have no difiiculty in making changes and modifications in the individual parts ortheir relative assembly Such changes and modifications may be made without .departing from the scope and spirit of the invention, as

moved to the open position it originally had in FIGURE 1, thereby opening the circuit to the heatingelernent 49 and allowing the bi-metallic element 49 to cool to its normal condition, whereby it is returned to the full-lined position shown in FIGURE 6. This allows the latch 41 to be pulled by spring 4(B back to its normal position. However, its end 43 is here out of line with the hook portion V 48, so it does not immediately relatch.

When it is desired to again use the iron, the operator grasps the handle 12 in a normal manner and exerts a' downward pressure, causing the iron to move toward the ironing surface, thereby bringing the supporting member ,19, substantially back to its inoperative position. In this manner the iron itself is used as a lever to bring the supset forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A flatiron comprising a body, a handle fixedly secured thereto, liftingmeans for said body movable between operative and inoperative positions, resilient means urging said lifting means to operative position, latch means in said handle for retaining said lifting means in inoperative position, keeper means for holding said latch means in effective position, a trigger movably mounted in said handle and connected to said latch means, a heat-sensitive element with one end fixed and the other endconnected to said trigger, an electrical heating element disposed near said heat-sensitive element for causing it to heat, flex and move said trigger to release said latch means, a switch open when horizontal, closed when tilted in only one direction and disposed in a a circuit with said electrical heating element, and resil: 1ent means mounted on said handle for tilting said switch to closed position, when the handle is released, to energize the heating element-and cause heating and move: ment of said heat-sensitive element to effect lifting of said body.

2. A flatiron as recited in claim 1, wherein the switch is one of the mercury type.

3. A fiatiron as recited in claim 1, whereinithe lifting of the body is efiected by tilting it in one direction and closing of the switch is effected by tilting it in the opposite direction, whereby the tilting of the body neutralizes I the tilting of said switch by its resilient means so that it is then returned to initial open position.

4. A flatiron as recited in claim 1, wherein the heatsensitive element is one of a bi-metallic type.

5. A flatiron as recited in claim 1, wherein the handle is hollow, and the heat-sensitive and heating elements are both housed in said handle.

6. A flatiron as recited in claim 1, wherein there is a latch-resetting device pivoted coaxially with said trigger and having a cam acting on the lifting means.

7. A flatiron as recited in claim 1, wherein the switch is initially open, closed upon initial actuation of the heat-sensitive element, and then open after the iron has been lifted.

8. A fiatiron comprising a body, a handle fixedly secured thereto, upward-tilting means for said body movable between operative and inoperative positions, resilient means urging said tilting means to operative position, latch means within said handle for retaining said tilting means in inoperative position, keeper means for holding said latch means in effective position, a trigger pivoted with respect to said handle and connected to release said latch means and eitect movement of said tilting means to raise the iron, a bi-metallic element with one end fixed in said handle and the other end connected to said trigger, an electrical heating element disposed in said handle adjacent said hi-metallic element for causing it to heat, flex and move said trigger to release said latch means, a normally open mercury switch in a circuit in series with said electrical heating element, and resilient means mounted on said handle for, when the handle is released, tilting said switch to closed position in a direction opposite to that in which the body tilts, to energize the heating element and cause heating and flexing of said bi-metallic element, to release said latch means and efiect lifting of said body and tilting of said switch back to open position.

9. In a flatiron comprising a body, a handle fixedly secured thereto, upward-tilting means for said body movable between operative and inoperative positions, resilient means urging said tilting means to operative position, latch means for retaining said tilting means in inoperative position, keeper means for holding said latch means in effective position, a trigger pivoted with respect to said handle and connected to release said latch means and effect movement of said tilting means to raise the iron; a safety device for said iron comprising a bi-rnetallic element with one end fixed in said handle and the other end connected to said trigger, an electrical heating element disposed said handle adjacent said bi-metallic element for causing it to heat, flex and move said trigger to re-- lease said latch means, a normally open mercury switch in a circuit in series with said heating element, resilient means mounted on said handle for tilting, in a direction opposite to that in which the iron tilts, said switch to closed position when the handle is released, to thereby close said circuit, energize the heating element, and cause flexing of said bi-metallic element, to release said latch means and effect lifting of said body and tilting of said switch back to open position in condition for a repetition of the operation.

10. A safety device for a flatiron comprising a bimetallic element with one end fixed and the other end connected to iron-tilting means, an electrical heating element disposed adjacent said bi-metallic element for causing it to heat, flex and energize said iron-tilting means, a normally-open switch in a circuit in series with said heating means, resilient means for tilting in a direction opposite to that in which an associated iron tilts said switch to closed position when the iron is left unattended to thereby close said circuit, energize the heating element and cause flexing of said bi-metallic element to efiect tilting of said iron and consequent tilting of said switch back to open position in condition for a repetition of the operation.

References Qited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,296,913 Fagan Sept. 29, 1942 2,602,247 Cochran July 8, 1952 2,944,209 Klung July 5, 196g 

